


All's Fair (In Love)

by officerhaughtstuff



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-24
Updated: 2016-04-24
Packaged: 2018-06-04 06:42:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6645571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/officerhaughtstuff/pseuds/officerhaughtstuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Waverly goes to the fair expecting to spend the day with her sister, instead she finds herself spending the afternoon with one Officer Nicole Haught. It's certainly not a bad alternative.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All's Fair (In Love)

**Author's Note:**

> This is fluff yet again. It can be considered a sequel to Late Night if you want, but it's not necessarily.

There’s a travelling fair that stops in Purgatory once a year. Waverly loved it as a kid, all the brightly colored attractions and candy. It was a staple of the Earp family, back before things got so broken. Ever since then Waverly has kept careful track of the dates of the fair, attending every year, even if she had to go alone. This year, though, this year Wynonna is back in town. Her sister has missed the last decade of fairs, and Wynonna promised that she’d meet Waverly at the fairground today. It might not erase years of distance, but it feels a lot like getting a piece of family back. There’s only one problem. Waverly is at the fair and Wynonna is nowhere to be found. She gets a sinking feeling in her stomach as she starts to suspect what’s happened. She pulls the phone from her pocket and, sure enough, there’s a text from Wynonna.

**_‘Nonna:_ ** _ Sry I can’t make it Waves. Dolls has me tracking a nasty rev, I’ll make it up to u, I swear. _

Waverly sighs, and starts typing out a response telling Wynonna that it’s okay. That they can go another day. That killing revenants and defeating the curse and saving people is obviously more important. But before she can finish that text another one comes in.

**_‘Nonna:_ ** _ hey, maybe haughtpants is there. Im sure she’d love to go on a ride with u ;) _

At that, Waverly shuts her phone, deciding that Wynonna can sweat it out a little bit waiting for a response. She wouldn’t call herself petty, per se, just doing her part as a younger sister to make Wynonna’s life difficult. And maybe a little petty, but isn’t everybody?

Waverly plans on leaving the park. She doesn’t feel like hanging out here on her own, and while she could strike up a conversation with just about everyone there, it doesn’t feel the same. She walks over to sit on a bench for a moment to compose herself. It’s not that she’s near tears or anything so dramatic, she just needs a moment to contain her disappointment and move on. She doesn’t blame Wynonna, and besides, the fair is in town for a few weeks and it’s only the first day. That’s plenty of time to come back with Wynonna, so really she hasn’t missed anything yet. Waverly takes a deep breath, putting her hands on her thighs to stand up. Only, before that happens someone drops onto the bench next to her so suddenly that Waverly jumps.

“I’m sorry, I seem to have made a habit out of scaring you. I’ll have to fix that.” It’s Officer Haught, and for the first time since they’ve met she’s not wearing her uniform. Waverly realizes that she’s never seen the woman’s hair down before, and finds herself distracted by the way the light catches on it.

Waverly realizes she’s not responded to the officer yet, shaking her head a little to pull herself back to the present. “Officer- “ she stumbles, remembering her promise to be less formal with the woman “Nicole, fancy seeing you here.”

“Officer Nicole? Well that’s a bit closer. We’ll work on it. Maybe next time we can even drop the officer part.” Nicole teases, winking at Waverly as she does, completely derailing Waverly’s train of thought yet again.

“What, uh, what brings you to the fair?” Waverly asks, cringing a little at the silliness of the question.

“I figured it would be a good way to get more familiar with the local culture. Plus your sister recommended it.” 

“Wynonna recommended it?” If Wynonna did what Waverly thinks she did, Waverly is going to remind her sister how good she is with a shotgun.

“Yep, she was coming into the station as I was getting off duty. She said that I should consider coming to the fair today. Something about me looking like I might enjoy the rides?” Waverly groans internally and makes a mental note to definitely murder her sister later, “I’ve always loved the fair, so I figured it was worth my time to check it out. So far it’s been the highlight of my day.” The eye contact Nicole’s making right now leaves no room for interpretation on that statement.

Waverly’s cheeks are burning, and, on what she assures herself is a completely unrelated topic, she decides that maybe she’ll stick around the fair for a little longer. She might as well, honestly, she drove all this way. Nicole could probably use the company anyway, and no one knows this fair better than Waverly.

“I don’t suppose you’ve been on any of the rides yet? I could show you the good ones here, if you’re interested.” Waverly offers, deciding to be bold.

Nicole looks both shocked and hopeful, like she can’t believe Waverly would ask to spend time with her. The look is powerful, and Waverly has to remind her lungs to breathe. It’s been a long time since she’s been the focus of such admiration, and it’s a heady feeling. Waverly isn’t entirely sure where this thing between them is going, and for once in her life Waverly is trying to just relax and let whatever happens happen. The silence grows for a moment, and Waverly can almost taste the tension build as Nicole’s eyes search her face.

“I think I would really like that, Waverly Earp.” And with that soft response the tension is expelled. 

Waverly jumps to her feet, grabbing the other woman by the arm to drag her to her feet as well. She’s already on the move before she realizes that she hasn’t told Nicole where they’re heading first. Turning her head to face Nicole, she realizes belatedly that perhaps the redhead doesn’t need to be dragged around the fair by her arm. She hastily drops it, making a wide gesture towards the bulk of the fair.

“We have so much to see, we should really get started before it gets dark out. To start with, we’re going to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl. You haven’t eaten, right? This one is guaranteed to mix you up pretty bad, and last year Kyle got sick after. It wasn’t pretty.” Waverly rambles on a bit, trying to smother her nerves with words.

“I’ll be fine. I haven’t eaten since lunch. Besides, the Haught family is known for having strong stomachs, I can take it.” Nicole responds with a smile, seemingly unbothered about being manhandled by Waverly.

The two chat all the way to the ride, which has a decent crowd around it. The ride is already spinning away, but the line doesn’t look unbearable, so the two women take their place at the end of it. After a moment, a smirk comes across Nicole’s face. Waverly isn’t quite sure what to expect, never having seen this particular expression from the woman. She is trying to figure out what has caught the officer’s attention, but the other woman isn’t saying anything.

“What is it, Nicole?” Waverly asks, biting the bullet.

“I’m just worried about you, Waverly.” Nicole starts, pausing for effect briefly before pushing on “I mean, are you sure you’re tall enough to ride this ride? It’d break my heart if we got to the front of the line and the nice man has to turn you away.”

Waverly feels her jaw drop just a little bit. A height joke? Is that really what the day has come to? She wants to laugh at the joke that feels like it would be more appropriate coming from a middle schooler than a fully grown woman. But instead she puts on an air of indignation, raising her eyebrow at Nicole in a challenge.

“I’ll have you know that my height is perfectly average. And I’m certainly not short enough to be kicked off the Tilt-a-Whirl; they let second graders ride that thing!” Waverly argues, but Nicole looks more amused than chastised.

“Average height? For what, a smurf?” Nicole seems to be trying to hold back a laugh, and Waverly wonders how many short jokes Nicole is willing to make.

“Just because you’re freakishly tall doesn't mean there’s anything wrong with my height.” She’s volleys back, hoping to see how the woman responds to a taste of her own medicine.

“Freakishly tall? That seems a little rude. One might even say uncalled for.” Nicole feigns hurt in return, bringing a hand delicately to her chest. Waverly has never seen the woman quite so dramatic, it seems Nicole is full of surprises today.

Waverly huffs quietly, crossing her arms, “Well I say it was very called for. You compared me to a smurf.” But even her playful indignation is belayed by the grin she feels spreading across her face.

“I suppose I can concede this one to you, then.” Nicole returns, appearing to back down, but Waverly can still see what she can now definitively identify as mischief in the woman’s eyes.

“I’m always right, you should probably remember that for the future.”

“I’ll make a note.” Nicole toes the line between sarcastic and flirtatious, leaving Waverly unsure how exactly to reply. 

Fortunately the man in charge of the ride chooses that moment to tell them that they can board. Nicole climbs onto the platform first, leaning down to offer Waverly a hand up. Waverly takes it, choosing to believe that this is a moment of altruism and not another short joke. When she’s fully on the platform and chances a look at Nicole she sees an expression of pure affection. Nicole notices her looking and quickly turns her head, but Waverly could swear that there’s a blush on the confident woman’s cheeks.

They find the nearest empty compartment, and clamber in. Soon enough the safety bar lowers with a clank, and the ride jerks to a start. And if Waverly leans on Nicole just a little more than forced to by the ride, well, that’s between the two of them. 

After the Tilt-a-Whirl, the women are both flushed and grinning widely. Waverly takes them to a few more rides, steadily working her way towards her favorite ride in the park. They chase each other around the bumper car rink, at least until a particularly persistent group of children force them to forge an alliance. The carousel is equally fun, Waverly had raced ahead to grab the same horse she had been riding since she was five, leaving a bemused Nicole to try and find the nearest empty horse. Unfortunately for her, the only available horse is comically short, leaving her knees far closer to her ears than normal in an effort to ensure that her feet don’t drag along the ground. Still, they both get a good laugh out of it, Waverly insists this is proof that Nicole is indeed freakishly tall. In retribution Nicole stops them by the Kiddie Train, asking Waverly if she’s sure she wants to skip a ride that is just her size. Waverly doesn’t deign to answer the question, instead dragging Nicole right towards her goal.

The Ferris Wheel is the most well-maintained ride in the entire fair. It’s painted a cheery red and orange, with snug little open-air compartments. Waverly still remembers riding this very same Ferris Wheel with Wynonna and Willa. The other attractions rotate out every year almost at random, but the Ferris Wheel has been a constant. 

“Here we are, the main attraction!” Waverly announces to Nicole with a grand gesture “It’s my absolute favorite ride in the entire fair. But it’s been years since I rode it with someone else, not since… Well, it’s been awhile. Aunt Gus refuses to get on it, says there’s no way it’s stable, but everything here is up to code. I mean, it might not look it, but it’s perfectly safe.” Waverly trails off when she notices that Nicole is looking unusually dubious. “I mean, we don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable.”

At that Nicole quickly gives Waverly a smile. “I’m, I’m fine. Just lost in thought. There’s no way that I’d miss your favorite ride. If you say it’s safe I trust you.” There’s a slightly more serious undertone to Nicole’s words that throws Waverly a little bit. She’s not sure where it came from, but in her excitement to ride the Ferris Wheel again she brushes the concern aside.

They work their way through the line surprisingly quickly. Waverly spends the wait explaining how great the view from the top of the ride is, while Nicole nods along, tapping her fingers against her thigh. Soon they are at the front of the line, the woman manning the controls gesturing them forward into one of the carts. Waverly is the first to sit down, rushing to get in, and Nicole follows not long after, stepping into the cart a bit more carefully.

“I’m so excited! I swear, just wait until you see the view up there, there’s nothing else like it.” Waverly exclaims to Nicole as the cart lifts slowly off the ground, getting a nod and a slightly forced smile in return. 

“I’ll, uh, I’ll bet.” Nicole’s voice sounds a little strained, like she’s fighting to keep her voice even

Taking a closer look at Nicole, Waverly’s excited smile turns quickly into a frown. The other woman looks vaguely pale, and her hands are gripping the safety bar so tight her knuckles are turning white. Nicole is still smiling, but it’s not reaching her eyes, which are staring determinedly straight ahead. Waverly can feel the tension coming off her in waves. She feels concern wash over her.

“Are you okay?” Waverly reaches a hand out to cover one of Nicole’s, which are still firmly attached to the bar.

“I’m fine.” Nicole’s voice tight. Waverly doesn’t believe a word of it, raising a disbelieving eyebrow. When Nicole doesn’t turn to see it, she taps Nicole’s hand lightly in reproach, earning a short sigh “I’m maybe slightly uncomfortable with heights. No big deal, really.”

“Nicole, you’re more than slightly uncomfortable. If you were any more tense you’d snap in half.” Waverly reprimands the woman, receiving only something that could be construed as a shrug in response “No big deal? You are being lifted into the air by a hunk of machinery older than I am, ” Waverly is cut off by Nicole

“You know, that is not exactly helpful.” Nicole sounds terse, taking a deep breath to compose herself “Besides, I’m already here. So why don’t we just enjoy the view?” Nicole flinches a little as she catches sight of the ground out of the corner of her eye.

“Well, it’s kind of hard to enjoy myself when the person I’m with could be mistaken for a post. Here, look at me.” Waverly tries, but Nicole’s eyes stay firmly focused on the horizon.

She decides to take a different approach, coaxing one of Nicole’s hands off of the bar slowly. Holding Nicole’s hand firmly in her own, she rubs little circles on the back with her thumb until she can feel some of the tension leave.

“Sorry, I didn’t want you to have to go on this ride alone again. It’s been awhile since I’ve been this high up. I thought I could handle it. I guess I overestimated myself.” Nicole finally speaks again, with a small self-deprecating smile “It’s been known to happen on occasion.”

“You don’t need to try and fix everything you know. There are plenty more opportunities for me to ride this Ferris Wheel with someone else before the fair leaves town, you know.” Waverly responds, continuing to look at Nicole’s profile, not even caring that she’s missing the view of Purgatory from the top of the Ferris Wheel. If the circumstances were different, she might even say that the view she’s got of Nicole right now beats any other view she’s seen on this old ride. But the circumstances aren’t different, so she’s determinedly not thinking that right now.

“Maybe I wanted to be the one to do that for you? What would you say to that?” Nicole has turned to face Waverly now, and Waverly can feel the second meaning behind the question.

“I...I would say that I’m glad that you were the one to join me up here.” Waverly feels a whole new tension now, one much like she had felt earlier on the bench with Nicole.

The Ferris Wheel slowly lowers them to the ground, and they don’t break eye contact until it’s time to get off the cart. And even then, their hands remain linked together as they exit the fenced in area around the ride. Waverly isn’t quite sure what this is, but right now feels a lot like a beginning. The moment is broken when another passenger walks into them, muttering something rude and stalking away. Nicole quickly removes her hand from Waverly’s, looking distinctly flustered.

“Do you want some cotton candy? I think I saw a booth over that way” Nicole says, breaking the silence, and Waverly can tell she needs a moment alone to compose herself, so she just nods.

When Nicole has walked away, Waverly has an overwhelming feeling of affection. Affection and hope. She had forgotten how exhilarating beginnings can be. Any feeling like this with Champ has long gone. Champ. That’s still something she has to address. They haven’t really been dating in months, barely spending any time together, and she’s sure he’s seeing another girl on the side. But they haven’t talked about it, neither one of them willing to be the first to move on. Their relationship is something like a safety net, and Waverly is starting to think it’s holding them both back. That’s it, she decides right there that it’s time to end her relationship with Champ. Officially.

Newly decided, Waverly feels lighter. When she spots the High Striker across from the Ferris Wheel, she feels inspired to take action. Or, more accurately, when she spots the bright selection of prizes she feels inspired. She’s going to win Officer Haught a prize, something to serve as a memory of today. Plus, after her scare on the Ferris Wheel, the woman deserves a nice surprise.

She walks up to the older woman sitting by the metal structure, handing over the money to play. In return she receives the mallet and a smirk. The woman doesn’t think she’s strong enough to win one of the prizes, but Waverly plans on proving her wrong. Lifting the mallet high over her head, and adjusting herself to a slightly sturdier stance, she brings it down on the lever with all her might.

The puck doesn’t quite make it up to hit the bell, but it still travels high enough to get an incredulous look from the woman. Waverly is offered a selection of available prizes, cheap looking stuffed toys. But on the edge, she sees the perfect gift. It’s a stuffed doughnut, with bright pink icing and little sown-on sprinkles. She gestures to it, and the woman gets it for her. Waverly is sure that Nicole will appreciate the humor in getting a police officer a stuffed doughnut. Or at least Waverly hopes Nicole appreciates the joke.

She doesn’t have long to consider this, as she spots Nicole winding her way through the crowd back to her. She’s got a cone of cotton candy in one hand that’s almost comically large, and more importantly she looks a little more put together. She clearly took the time to compose herself, and she’s looking far more like the police officer Waverly knows: confident almost to the point of occasional smugness. As Nicole gets closer, Waverly hurriedly puts the doughnut behind her back, wanting to surprise the woman.

“Sorry that took so long, I got distracted by Sheriff Nedley. He was having what looked like a religious experience with a plate of funnel cake. I had to double check that he wasn’t breaking any public indecency laws.” Nicole pauses, seeming to register that Waverly was holding something behind her back “What is it?”

“This is a stuffed doughnut, and it is now yours.” She brings the doughnut out from behind her back with a small flourish “I figure you of all people would appreciate it, being an officer of the law and all.” Waverly responds with a wide smile, hoping that Nicole would appreciate the joke.

Nicole lets out a loud laugh, plucking the donut out of Waverly’s grip with her free hand. She inspects it carefully, nodding to herself in a manner too serious to be taken seriously. Eventually she nods, tucking the doughnut under her arm.

“Well, as an officer of the law, and thereby the local doughnut expert, I have to commend you, citizen. This is truly the finest doughnut I have ever received. Can I repay you in cotton candy?” Nicole delivers the entire speech with an amazingly stoic face, ending with a gallant bow as she ‘presents’ the cotton candy to Waverly.

Waverly stifles a giggle to try and reply in a similarly mock-serious manner, “Well, Officer, it was the least I could do to thank you for your service to this town.” She takes the cotton candy out of Nicole’s hand with all the poise she can muster while holding back laughter.

Together they wander over to a nearby bench, sitting shoulder to shoulder, their legs brushing together. The cotton candy is split between them as they talk idly, Waverly sometimes sharing a story or two about the people passing by. Nicole responds by sharing a few of the weirder incidents she’s seen as a cop. They bicker over who deserves the last bit of cotton candy, and eventually they decide to get up and see what else they can find to do. 

They’ve only gone a few steps when Nicole’s eyes light up. She grins over at Waverly and gestures over at one of the games. She gestures with the hand holding the stuffed doughnut, so the entire thing looks more than a little ridiculous.

“I think you deserve a prize as well, and seeing as I’m now in possession of the one you won, I figure it’s up to me to win you one. How do you feel about giant purple teddy bears?” Nicole asks, already walking towards the stand she had pointed out.

“You really don’t have to do that. I don’t expect you to do that.” Waverly calls, following after her

“I know, but you deserve it. Also, maybe I just want to show off a bit? Really you’d be doing me a favor by letting me win this for you.”

“When you put it that way, I suppose I could do you this favor.” Waverly tries to pretend to be unaffected, but inside she’s swooning a little. It’s been awhile since even Champ tried to win her a fairground prize. She’s a fan of the classics, what can she say?

The booth turns out to be darts. There’s an entire wall lined with colorful balloons, and hanging from the awning is an array of stuffed monstrosities. It’s easy to spot the purple bear that Nicole was talking about among them, its fur practically neon in tone.

“You do know that practically all rigged?” Waverly asks, not bothering to whisper. The teen manning the counter couldn’t care less, naming a price just shy of too expensive.

“They aren’t rigged if you know how to play them right.” Is all Nicole says in response, handing over the money. Waverly rolls her eyes at the vague answer.

Nicole takes her time before throwing, tapping the point of each dart and getting a feel for them. When the teen tires of her slowness, she winks at Waverly before throwing a dart that pops two of the balloons at once. She throws each of the other four darts, not once failing to pop a balloon. By the time she’s done, she’s won Waverly one horrendous giant teddy bear. It could be considered an affront to bears everywhere, but Waverly adores it anyway.

“How did you manage that? I mean I’ve tried the dart game before, and I never managed to pop more than one or two.” Waverly asks as they start to leave the darkening fairground.

“The darts are too light, and they dull the tips. The key is to throw the dart in an arc so that gravity does all the work for you.” Is the simple answer

“Oh. Well that’s a little less impressive than I’d hoped.” Waverly teases

“In that case it’s entirely skill. And superpowers. That any better?” Nicole spouts off the ridiculous lie immediately, smiling broadly at Waverly.

“Much, thank you.” The rest of the walk passes in an easy silence, and all too soon Waverly is standing by Gus’s truck.

“Well, I guess this is goodnight?” Waverly asks, not sure what she wants the response to be

“I suppose it is. Thank you for the lovely afternoon, for the doughnut, and for the company.” Nicole responds, dipping her head in response

“It’s really no problem, I mean I can’t take all the credit for pleasant company.” Waverly brushes off the thanks.

“Still, I appreciate it.” Nicole continues, undeterred, reaching out a hand brush Waverly’s arm for a brief second before dropping it to her side “Good night, drive safe.”

Waverly spends a moment to watch Nicole leave, almost forgetting to wish Nicole goodbye as well “You too!” She calls out a little too loudly, and is gifted with a small smile and wave from Nicole across the parking area.

After that, she turns and places the bear carefully in the passenger's seat of the truck. She considers for a minute if it would be too silly to buckle it in with the seatbelt, before deciding against it. When the bear is secure, she gets in the drivers seat. In the privacy of Gus’s truck she finally thinks to check her phone, finding a slew of messages from Wynonna. She rolls her eyes, opening the messages.

**_‘Nonna:_ ** _ Waverly? U there? _

**_‘Nonna:_ ** _ U ok? _

**_‘Nonna:_ ** _ im going to assume officer haughtstuff found u then? _

**_‘Nonna:_ ** _ are u ignoring me? _

**_‘Nonna:_ ** _ im going to assume ur ignoring me 4 haughtshot and not to b rude _

**_‘Nonna:_ ** _ congrats on scoring a date, no need to thank ur amazing older sister for setting it up _

**_‘Nonna:_ ** _ good for you. get some. if u ride the tunnel of love be safe _

**_‘Nonna:_ ** _ if u know what i mean ;) _

**_Waverly:_ ** _ im going to kill you when i get home _

**_Waverly:_ ** _ but thank you wynonna _

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come chat with me at officerhaughtstuff.tumblr.com!


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